Federal pensions stripped for sex-crime convictions under new law
S. 4447 — No Taxpayer-Funded Pensions for Sex Criminals Act · Filed by Joni Ernst (R-IA) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal law to strip federal pensions and annuities from federal employees and military personnel convicted of serious sex crimes (including child sexual abuse, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and sex trafficking). The forfeiture applies to convictions occurring on or after the bill's enactment date, and the law specifies which federal and state sex-crime statutes trigger the penalty.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand the list of offenses triggering automatic forfeiture of federal pensions and annuities. It is a straightforward criminal-penalty provision with no secondary purpose or hidden rider.
What the text implies
- Forfeiture applies only to convictions on or after enactment, creating a temporal cliff; individuals convicted before enactment retain their pensions even if convicted of identical conduct.
- The bill references both federal sex-crime statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 2241–2425) and state-law equivalents, but the state-law trigger is defined circularly as conduct that 'would be' a federal offense if it occurred in federal jurisdiction—creating potential ambiguity in application across state lines.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens benefit by no longer funding pensions for individuals convicted of serious sex crimes; the bill redirects public money away from convicted sex offenders and toward the general treasury. The restriction applies only to a narrow class of serious federal and state sex offenses, and only to individuals convicted after enactment.